Hundreds brave heat for CC Humane Society Bash

Shelter animals ready for a good home

July 18, 2011

HOUGHTON - From quiet cats and energetic puppies to playful kittens and lap dogs, the Copper Country Humane Society has plenty of pets in need of a good home.

Saturday, many of the humane society's 80 cats and 22 dogs were available for people to meet and play with at the seventh annual Copper Country Humane Society Bash.

Carla Belopavlovich, a volunteer with the humane society, said early in the event, they had one adoption and more were planned.

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Stacey Kukkonen/Daily Mining GazetteThis sleepy kitty is one of the 80 cats currently available for adoption at the Copper Country Humane Society.

"It usually averages between four and six adoptions on a day like the Bash," she said.

The humane society currently has numerous domestic short-hair and long-hair cats, as well as kittens, available for adoptions. The humane society currently has about 20 dogs in need of a good home, and the dogs range from black lab mixes to pit bulls to beagles.

"We have one right now in foster care until he gets adopted," she said. "It gets stressful for an older senior dog for a day like today."

The CCHS website has all sorts of information about the animals currently available and gives a biography for each. After learning about each animal, the staff writes up a bio for the pet to give a better idea of each pet's personality.

"We want to match them up with the best possible home," she said.

When thinking about adopting, Belopavlovich suggested coming to the shelter to play with the animals and walking the dogs to learn more about their personalities.

"We encourage people to take the dog out to the fenced-in yard to play with the dogs," she said. "We have a lot of dogs that have high energy levels."

Those also interested in a certain breed can join a waiting list. The humane society averages between 70 to 75 cats and 10 to 15 dogs at a given time. However, CCHS volunteers recently took six dogs from two different shelters who were scheduled to be euthanized. The Copper Country Humane Society does not euthanize dogs and keeps animals for as long as they need to be in their care.

"We make sure everyone is adopted," Belopavlovich said. "A lot of animals that come in have had a very rough life. They suffer from neglect, they could have been hit by a vehicle, we have stray cats who lived outside all winter long fending for themselves. It's important to adopt these animals. They need a home. They didn't ask to be brought into the world and we're trying to do our best to provide them with love, food and shelter."

Open hours for the Copper Country Humane Society are from 4 to 8 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday and from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday. Volunteers are always needed to care for the pets as well.